re: First F-35 Thread of 2017

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How is this even an issue?

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Skeptical of this question. I will keep reading.

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The F-35 is here. We already have squadrons using it.

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This is like telling your construction site boss, "The dozer is here and it's being used.", when in fact you just tow things around the worksite with it.

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It's not like we are going to give back the billions in planes that have been fielded and use the F-18...

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The program will cost us over $1 Trillion dollars. Billions have been spent and the plane is nowhere close to delivering what was promised. Cutting that program may save half a trillion dollars and yes we could use the F-18 and the rest of our inventory.

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This is a hot topic that seeks to do nothing more than divide people on the issue.

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Good. It's a boondoggle. It's being used to launder money and if you research this issue you'll find a more compelling case that the plane is designed to fail and bilk hundreds of billions from taxpayers, than a scenario where the platform delivers what has been promised. Maybe it turns out well, but so far there's no evidence to suggest that is the case.

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The F-35 is going nowhere.

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Don't be so sure of that.


Israel now has some. If they run it through their own testing and elect to fly it operationally, that will give us a better barometer here. If Israel shies away from deploying it in earnest that will be a huge red flag.